News (Noticias) Tagged ‘Cuban Five’

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals of Atlanta upheld Wednesday the guilty verdicts of the Cuban Five, prisoners in the United States since 1998. It also vacated the sentences of three of the men, ordering a new sentencing in Miami. The sentences of Rene Gonzalez (15 years) and Gerardo Hernandez (two life terms plus 15 years) were maintained. In the case of Hernandez, the panel voted 2-1. A 16-page [minority] opinion of Judge Phyllis Kravitch states that the government did not present sufficient evidence to prove Gerardo’s guilt in the charge of conspiracy to commit murder.

The cases of Ramon Labanino (life sentence plus 18 years), Fernando Gonzalez (19 years) and Antonio Guerrero (life sentence plus 10 years) were sent to the Florida Court for re-sentencing. It will be Judge Joan Lenard who will announce a hearing to issue the new sentencing. Lenard was the presiding judge who, in 2001, issued the harsh sentences to the Cuban Five. The 99-page ruling of the Appeals Court of Atlanta, which explicitly favors the government position, was drafted in a politically charged language unusual for legal texts. It states that the defense arguments in their appeal “are meritless.” “*

On Feb. 1, nearly two dozen solidarity activists gathered on famous Hollywood Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles, Calif., to unveil the only non-electoral political billboard currently standing in a city filled with billboards advertising movies, cars and other products. The billboard proudly proclaims, “Free the Cuban Five Unjustly Held in U.S. Prisons,” to the traffic passing by, coming and going from the busy Hollywood Freeway.
The vocal crowd was thrilled to see this tribute to five heroic men, and happy to know that the message of the Five will reach hundreds of thousands of people over the course of the next month. A series of prominent activists in solidarity with the Cuban Five spoke to the crowd during a rally chaired by Ian Thompson, an organizer with the Los Angeles chapter of the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five. “*

*From: http://www.pslweb.org
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

A new billboard to raise awareness of the case of the Cuban Five will soon be erected on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.

The 14 by 48 foot billboard will appear February 1, as part of a campaign started by the US Committee to Free the Cuban Five to break the US media imposed silence, reported Juventud Rebelde newspaper.”*

*From: http://www.invasor.cu
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

With a sold-out theater at 7:30 pm and a second 9:30 pm show added, the Dec. 6 Hollywood premiere of “The Trial: the untold story of the Cuban Five” was a great success. Over 250 people saw the film that night.

Danny Glover took time from his busy filming schedule to open the premiere at the Laemmle’s Sunset 5 Theater complex. There was great excitement among the theater-goers by his presence and for his support for the Five.”*

“JUST hours after the latest international call for the release of the five Cubans imprisoned in the United States for their anti-terrorist activities began to circulate, Spanish intellectuals Alfonso Sastre and Juan Madrid added their voices to the cause.

Others who signed the documents demanding the release of the Five include Argentine writer Sara Rosenberg, Venezuelan Stefania Mosca, Portuguese political scientist Boaventura de Souza and French Latin American specialist Paul Estrade.

In the opinion of Juan Madrid, known as one of the best writers of thrillers in the Spanish language, the viciousness with which the U.S. judicial system has prosecuted Fernando, Antonio, René, Ramón and Gerardo is yet another indication of the double standard the United States follows in relation to terrorism.”*

“Almost nine years after their arrest, five Cubans convicted of spying on the U.S. government and South Florida exile groups will appeal Monday to judges in Atlanta, arguing that their sentences are excessive and they should be free.

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the latest appeal — the third time the case has come before that court. The so-called Cuban Five, who are called heroes on the communist-run island, were convicted in 2001 in Miami and handed sentences ranging from 15 years to life.”